I was watching the Food Network last night. Alton Brown hosting a show called "Kitchens of the Future". It was a pretty cool show. Lots of cool fun gadgets that may or may not actually hit the market. Some of them were just lame. Like a spoon that tells you when something is sweet or sour etc... How stupid is that? I mean seriously folks, just taste it. Anyway, after that was over I left it on FN.
Rachael Ray was going to Santa Barbara, California. She visited places I had been to. Santa Barbara Seafood Company on the SB pier and Cold Springs Tavern, a biker bar and grill nestled in the hills. I was becoming very homesick. My hometown of Oxnard is a mere 40 minute drive south, and a Saturday afternoon drive into SB was something I enjoyed on several occasions.
After that show, the next episode had Rachael venturing into Los Angeles and surrounding areas. They went by Neptune's Net in Malibu. (Best clam chowder on the west coast.) Then she went to The Inn of the Seventh Ray, a vegetarian restaurant that my ex and I frequented in Topanga.
Don't get me wrong, I love my life here. My best friend is here, I have made wonderful new relationships here, I have a great house that I love (most of the time), I have a great job and of course, the best part, I live here with the love of my life, my husband Beau (who is, I might add, an Oxnard kid too). But, I do find myself daydreaming of being home again. I miss the beaches, the mountains, the diversity of its residents, skate punks and aging hippies alike. I miss bonfires at the beach, strolling through the many, many shops on Hollywood Blvd. and Melrose. I miss the farmers markets. Hell, I even miss the old Mexican ladies who hawk homemade tamales on Sunday afternoons. I realize now how much I took it all for granted. As a kid, it never occured to me that there was any other way of life.
I do really love living here in OK, but I can't imagine growing up here. Furthermore, I can't imagine growing old here. I don't know what the future holds, but one thing I do know, I need a beach or a mountain range to marvel at. The sweeping windy plains of OK are alright for now, but I can't see myself staying here forever. Will I go back to California? Unless we have LOTS of money, it is quite doubtful, but, I do know I don't want to die in OK.
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Oh, Ville, I feel your pain! I've had to fight tears all day because I'm so homesick. I love Vienna, and I'm looking forward to living there in a few years, but if I knew for a fact that you'd be moving back to California, I'd change my plans in a heartbeat.
We need a boxxo night on the patio! Wah!!!!!
Before the skeeters hatch!
*sigh* yeah.
I grew up here and I have to admit that growning up in Stillwater wasn't too bad. The university makes this town more diverse and interesting. However, I can't imagine growning up anywhere else in Oklahoma, (except maybe Tulsa).
But no, I don't want to die here. It's not particularly Stillwater per se, but Oklahoma in general and even the U.S. and the "American Dream" that I'm weary of. I'm sick of the rat race, the superficiality of most Americans and how we take so much for granted. I want a place where life is slower, and people aren't so in-yer-face.
Steph and I have discussed, in the last few days, how we will have to have a home base in the U.S. when we go to Vienna. We've decided that our home base will be Ojai. That way when we are back in the states, we can still live in a place that reflects who we are.
Oh yes. Ojai is a wonderful place.
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